While CPGIS is committed to the advancement of GIS technology at the University of
Memphis, a large part of our mission is to prepare students for a future job market
which is increasingly dependent upon GIS for strategic decision making. This is accomplished
by engaging our workforce on projects at the local to national scale. Our workforce
is comprised of both students and recent graduates (undergraduate and graduate) from
over 12 different disciplines including Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering,
City and Regional Planning, Computer Science, Geology, Geography, and numerous others.
As new students are hired, they are placed in a mentoring program with students that
have more experience with the project and the software. All data that is produced
is placed through a rigorous, multi-tiered quality check cycle that guarantees that
CPGIS continues to release quality data.

Not only do students gain experience by working on applied projects, they also benefit
from working as part of a multi-disciplinary team. Participation in a work environment
such as this allows students to simultaneously apply information from their course
of study while also learning about other disciplines and their use of GIS in the workplace.